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Rank: Frosh
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Joined: 5/11/2008
Posts: 26
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Hello,
This is a post written by me on behalf of my friend.
She is deciding between University of Toronto, Queen's University and University of Ottawa. She will be studying political science, international development, or international relations, with an ultimate goal of going into Law School. She is deeply interested in foreign affair. She has accepted University of Ottawa, but is now having second thoughts. Her concerns are that, firstly, Ottawa is not as highly recognized as Queen's and U of T. However, Ottawa is in the capital city, it is bilingual (giving her the opportunity to practice French), and they have offered her a higher scholarship. Is University of Ottawa a "party school" ? What are the pros and cons of these three universities?
Any input would be appreciated.
Thank you.
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Rank: Student Council
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Location: mississauga
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Ottawa is definitely not known as a "party school". It is located in the capital city, meaning that you may get a job working with the federal government, but considering that the school is somewhat smaller, it is less recognized internationally, which is important if you are looking into foreign affairs, in which you will be dealing with people from other nations.
I don't know which to recommend specifically, but I think that U of T and Queen's are fairly recognized for their Humanities programs as well. Also, it is still possible to get a job with the federal government, or at least an internship if you are willing to relocate from either of these universities. If she wants to practice french, she can take french as an elective, and do an exchange term in a french-speaking region of the world, or even transfer to Mcgill, as they are definitely known internationally, have a great pol. sci program, and will definitely provide you with an opportunity to learn in french and english.
"My parents live in Ohio; I live in the moment." -himym.
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Rank: Valedictorian
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Location: Kingston, ON
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Here is how I see it:
Size: Queen's is 15,000 students, Ottawa has double that number, Toronto has Double the number of Ottawa.
Competitiveness: U of t st. George and Queen's are aprox equal on competitiveness. Ottawa trails by a little.
World class faculty: I know that U of T and Queen's are known in this feild, i also think that because of the location that ottawa would have great Political science faculty too.
Class sizes: 1. Queen's 2. Ottawa 3. U of T, where #1 has smallest classes.
BAH '08 (Queen's) MA'11 (Queen's)
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Rank: Valedictorian
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Location: Kingston, ON
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Ottawa has some advantages, it's a beautiful city (better looking than Toronto at least), and you have the ability to build on french skills.
Kingston is a quaint little town on the lake with a great downtown, but it doesn't compare to Ottawa.
BAH '08 (Queen's) MA'11 (Queen's)
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Rank: Frosh
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Joined: 5/11/2008
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Thank you for your input. You guys made good points. I think her heart was set on university of Ottawa, but her mother is urging her to stay in Toronto. Also, she is worried about the reputation of University of Ottawa. University of Toronto and Queen's University both parallel Ivy League schools in the states. However, University of Ottawa is not as well known, so that was a concern.
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Rank: Frosh
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Joined: 5/6/2008
Posts: 31
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Personally, I'm super pumped for Queen's. Its spirit and community are what drew me to it in the first place! As much as I love Toronto, you'll be treated like a number. That's just the way it is! Like come on.. max class sizes at Queen's are around 300.. at UofT I was told I'd be in, at minimum, three classes with over 1200.. I don't know about you but that's three of my high schools. Not for me. It's a commuter school. Most of your classmates will be going home at the end of the day.. not back to their rez. However, great rep, great faculty and you have access to all that Toronto has to offer. I don't know much about University in Ottawa. Love the city.. there's a lot of life in it and fun to be had for sure. However I think certain things (like HAVING to move out of rez after first year) kind of suck out some of the community feel that Queen's has. At Queen's, you don't have to seek everything out. Clubs and activities seem to be almost poured into your lap and are yours to partake in if you so choose. I think you have to do a bit for seeking out at Ottawa and Toronto. ANYWAYS.. that's my bias haha. You can't make a bad choice or decision here.. you have great options. Good luck and remember.. no regrets! 
Queen's 2012
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Rank: Frosh
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Joined: 5/6/2008
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Sorry I remember this is directed towards your friend.. good luck to her!
Queen's 2012
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Rank: Frosh
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Joined: 5/11/2008
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Thank you.
Ultimately, she chose University of Ottawa. I am not familiar with that University, but since I will be going to McGill, we would be close by, so we could travel to Toronto from Ottawa together. Ottawa I heard is nice. She also chose the university for the options they provided her for foreign affairs studies. Also, it is true that at University of Toronto, you are basically another undergraduate vying for the top marks, the "A's" that are scarcely handed out to students. I think she made a good choice in going to University of Ottawa.
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Rank: Frosh
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CRAZYBUBBA wrote:Here is how I see it:
Class sizes: 1. Queen's 2. Ottawa 3. U of T, where #1 has smallest classes. Can you provide of source for this? From what I know, UofT has smaller class sizes than Queen's.
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Rank: Senior Student
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Yah, U of O is somewhat lagging in terms of prestige. I didn't even apply there and they offered me scholarships, called twice and sent a Christmas card
Pourquoi?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf94uiIbItg
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Rank: Student Body Vice-President
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leviathan wrote:CRAZYBUBBA wrote:Here is how I see it:
Class sizes: 1. Queen's 2. Ottawa 3. U of T, where #1 has smallest classes. Can you provide of source for this? From what I know, UofT has smaller class sizes than Queen's. Ummm, no, definitely not. At LEAST not first year classes. Thanks.
Uschi Queen's '10
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Rank: Frosh
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Are you kidding... UofT.. has 70 thousand undergrads. BIG classes. Some first year classes are 1000+ come on now...
Queen's 2012
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Rank: Frosh
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Location: London
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haha well what a lot of people don't understand is that it's all about which college you're placed into at U of T...if you know that you will have a better idea of how big your classes will be...i'm at victoria at u of t where you are REQUIRED to take some small classes first year
UofT 2012 [Victoria College]
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Rank: Frosh
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Airplane7 wrote:Are you kidding... UofT.. has 70 thousand undergrads. BIG classes. Some first year classes are 1000+ come on now... Again, you're wrong. UofT doesn't have 70k UG students. Queen's has very big class sizes too and I remember reading that it's bigger than UofT because I remember being surprised. Yeah, UofT has a couple classes with 1000+ students, but what's the difference in having a class with 1200 students or 500 students or 300 students? BTW, McMaster has the largest class sizes of all.
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Rank: Valedictorian
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K can u show some data to back this up? Cuz at this point, I don't beleive u.
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Rank: Senior Student
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Location: Greater Toronto Area
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Quote:BTW, McMaster has the largest class sizes of all. I find this highly improbable... McMaster only has about 20,000 students TOTAL, and I doubt they would have classes/lectures with more people than UT. I have to agree with eco here... until you show me some stats or links, I can't believe you.
UTSG Rotman Commerce (Victoria College) 2012
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Rank: Student Council
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actually i remember i was surprised during their tour that mac had really big classes (at least for engineering) relative to the other schools i'd visited.
"My parents live in Ohio; I live in the moment." -himym.
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Rank: Frosh
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Joined: 5/6/2008
Posts: 31
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leviathan wrote:Airplane7 wrote:Are you kidding... UofT.. has 70 thousand undergrads. BIG classes. Some first year classes are 1000+ come on now... Again, you're wrong. UofT doesn't have 70k UG students. Queen's has very big class sizes too and I remember reading that it's bigger than UofT because I remember being surprised. Yeah, UofT has a couple classes with 1000+ students, but what's the difference in having a class with 1200 students or 500 students or 300 students? BTW, McMaster has the largest class sizes of all. Fine .. UofT has 63K undergrads. My bad. There, now let's see your stats, cause like eco, I don't believe you.
Queen's 2012
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Rank: Valedictorian
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leviathan wrote:CRAZYBUBBA wrote:Here is how I see it:
Class sizes: 1. Queen's 2. Ottawa 3. U of T, where #1 has smallest classes. Can you provide of source for this? From what I know, UofT has smaller class sizes than Queen's. U of T has a student to faculty ratio of 24/1. http://www.towards2030.utoronto.ca/sec2.htmlQueens' ratio is lower. http://www.queensu.ca/fins/info/pdf/AnnualReport2007.pdfThanks for reminding me to post the stats. it's also based upon my personal experience. After first year, the largest class that I had at Queen's had 50 people in it. Certain first year classes do go up to 800 in first year but in general intimacy characterizes the Queen's experience, of course it doesn't compare to a small school like acadia, but it's pretty darn good for a research intensive university.
BAH '08 (Queen's) MA'11 (Queen's)
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